Textbook Shortages Spur Digital Alternatives

Frustrated by textbook shortages and book-ordering delays, some
schools are now buying into programs that offer laptop computers loaded
with digital versions of state-approved textbooks.

The 4,000-student Forney Independent School District in Texas,
located just outside Dallas, was one of the first to sign up for a
program spearheaded by IBM and Vital Source Technologies that offers
schools the option of buying laptops that can be customized with
digital versions of state-approved textbooks.

The district, which has been growing at an annual rate of 25 percent
for the past four years, making it one of the fastest-growing districts
in Texas, has long had to scramble to provide enough textbooks for its
students, according to Roger Geiger, the district’s director of
technology.

"We can grow 15 to 20 percent over the summer," Mr. Geiger said.
"And it can be a time-consuming process to order textbooks [in the
fall]."

For the current school year, for instance, the district didn’t
receive many of its textbooks until February, he said.

Starting next fall, the district will be piloting the "e-textbook"
program at the 392-student Johnson Elementary School. If school
officials see improved test scores and receive positive feedback from
teachers, pupils, and parents, the district intends to expand the
program to serve all students in grades 5-12 by the 2006- 07 school
year, Mr. Geiger said.

The International Business Machines Corp., based in Armonk, N.Y., is
not the only company trying to fill the void created by textbook
shortages.

Pearson Education, the world’s largest publisher of
educational materials, has been producing digital textbooks on CD-ROMs
for nearly three years and was not surprised when a growing number of
school districts began showing interest in the digital books.

"I think it’s an emerging trend," said Jeff Ikler, the
executive vice president of Pearson Education’s school group,
based in Upper Saddle River, N.J. "We’re starting to see it
bubble up across the country."

High Cost, Other Problems

But electronic textbooks are not for every school, experts point
out. The hardware needed to run digital textbooks is still relatively
expensive, they say.

The Forney school district, for example, is paying close to $1,300
for each of the 100 laptops it is using in the pilot program at Johnson
Elementary School. Those laptops, though, can each be loaded with
literally hundreds of virtual books.

Frank Daniels, the president and chief executive officer of Vital
Source Technologies, based in Raleigh, N.C., said that one of the major
challenges for schools is not only the cost of the laptops, but also a
lack of state funding for digital-textbook purchases.

Mr. Daniels said that of the 21 states with a statewide adoption
process for printed textbooks, few directly support spending for
electronic textbooks, making the financial burden on schools high.

There are also technical issues to consider, said Maureen DiMarco, a
senior vice president of Houghton- Mifflin Co., located in Boston, who
served as California’s secretary of education from 1991 to 1996.
Many older teachers are unwilling to use digital technology because
they’ve found it to be unreliable, she said.

"If your link doesn’t work or the software fails, you
don’t want 30 students waiting," she said. "It’s a loss of
precious instructional time."

Other issues include equity and access for low-income students, she
added.

IBM officials are trying to address some of the problems by making
their laptops more durable and offering technical support. The company
offers an internal sensory system in its laptops so that when a machine
senses that it’s falling, it deploys an airbag around the hard
drive.

At the 1,350-student North Broward Preparatory Schools, a private
pre-K-12 campus in Coconut Creek, Fla., all 6th through 12th graders
are now required to have laptop computers. The school has a complete
digital inventory of textbooks that have been used in all its classes
for more than a year.

Lisa Villalobos, the high school principal there, has found that the
digital textbooks are not as simple as some publishers would like
schools to believe.

Many of the school’s chemistry teachers found the digital
books helpful because students could perform experimental labs, she
said, but some teachers said it was easier for students to go off task
by playing games, instant-messaging classmates, or sending e-mails.

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.